Investing in a better future: evaluating Smart growth and TDM strategies for overcoming sprawl and automobile dependency

Increasing needs for higher mobility are often met by design and implementation of new infrastructure provisions. The challenging question is whether this choice elevates the general goal of sustainable development. In this context, the land-use and transportation interactions need to be envisaged as well. In land use planning a debate between ―sprawl‖ and ―Smart Growth‖ has been taken into consideration. As for transport planning the issues regarding ―automobile dependency‖ and ―transportation demand management‖ or TDM are brought up. Because land use and transportation are closely connected, these are actually two facets of the same debate. Smart Growth can be considered the land use component of TDM, and TDM can be considered as the transport component of Smart Growth. Many current transportation policies and planning practices tend to focus on mobility at the expense of accessibility, therefore unintentionally lead to automobile dependency and sprawl. Proactive tools focusing on environmental, economic and social impacts of transportation and land use have the potential to disrupt the status que, providing an opening for sustainable practices. This paper identifies land use policies and TDM strategies that support smart growth. It discusses the benefits and equity impacts. These policies and strategies can help to correct existing policies and planning practices that encourage sprawl and automobile dependency. They tend to reduce per capita land consumption, improve land use accessibility, increase transportation options and help to achieve social welfare, equity and environmental sustainability

Keywords:

automobile dependency , smart growth , sprawl , sustainability , TDM